A Bunny’s View of a Springtime Woodland

An intimate view from underneath a miniature forest of mayapples in the woodland known as Raccoon Grove Nature Preserve in Monee, Illinois.

In the woodlands of early May, shy waxy white blossoms of mayapples hide under their umbrella-like foliage. Their parasols obscure our view of the flowers from above. But the bunnies below can see them just fine. Mayapples with one umbrella cannot flower. The plant needs two umbrellas to collect extra light energy to do the job. The flowering mayapple in the center clearly shows the leaves rising from the central stalk.

I’ve been photographing nature for thirty-one years, now. And for much of that time, I’ve been searching for an opportunity to showcase these flowers in the form of a landscape. However, due to the logistical and compositional challenges of setting up a clean shot from ground level, many conditions need to be met, much of which I have no control. Therefore, I don’t waste time actively searching for the unlikely perfect scenario. Rather, I enter the scenario into my brain’s pattern-recognition system with the instruction to subconsciously search for the proper conditions and to sound the alarm when they’re met.

In May of 2008, the alarm went off, and I composed an image that I thought I’d never beat. Then in May, sixteen springs later, the alarm went off again. With this image, I may be able to switch the alarm for good.